OWCP has published a final rule that implements the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act’s maximum and minimum compensation provisions as outlined in Sections 6 and 9 of the Act.  The rule also addresses the Act’s section 10(f) annual adjustment provision. 

To provide clarity for all stakeholders, the rule:

• prescribes which maximum compensation rates apply to any particular injury by implementing the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the “newly awarded” phrase (i.e., compensation is “newly awarded” when the employee first becomes disabled) and the interpretation of the “currently receiving” phrase adopted by two courts of appeals (i.e., “currently receiving” means the date the employee is entitled to compensation;

• addresses how the Act’s minimum compensation provisions apply; and 

• outlines the relationship between Section 6’s maximum and minimum compensation rates and Section 10(f)’s annual adjustment provision.

Please access our website (http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dlhwc/) for more information on this rule, including a letter from the Longshore Director summarizing the provisions of the rule and a link to the Federal Register site where you can review the final rule in its entirety.

You can review the press release issued here.

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